Republicans To Delay Convention Due To Severe Weather

Republican officials on Saturday cancelled most of Monday’s planned opening of the Republican National Convention, bowing to concerns about the safety of delegates who were to gather as the tropical storm Isaac barreled into the area.

TAMPA—Republican officials on Saturday cancelled most of Monday’s planned opening of the Republican National Convention, bowing to concerns about the safety of delegates who were to gather as the tropical storm Isaac barreled into the area.

The plan, announced in a conference call, was to formally gavel the convention open, then recess until Tuesday. The most notable events of the convention were later what was to be a four-day celebration capped with Mitt Romney’s nomination acceptance speech on Thursday night.

Romney’s wife Ann is scheduled to speak Tuesday and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan on Wednesday.
Isaac was headed on a track past Tampa toward landfall perhaps on the Florida Panhandle, but its trajectory was not precisely clear Saturday. The storm was wide enough, however, that it was expected to affect much of western Florida.